Persimmon and Chicken Teriyaki

Recipe adapted from Today’s Cooking

My husband’s co-worker gave us persimmons harvested from her own tree…my favorite, Fuyu variety with no seeds. As child, I would climb on a stone fence and snatch one…maybe two from neighbors. Some persimmon varieties are very astringent and inedible yet I knew the way to remedy the problem – peel the fruit leaving the stem intact then string it to dry in the sun. They turned very sweet…where did you get those? I don’t know why my mother bothered asking the question when she already knew the answer? I’m sure the neighbors would have gladly gave us of the abundance of the fruits since they can’t eat them all but perhaps pretending to be a shinobi (忍び /incognito) girl was thrilling…occasional scratches and bruises were part of the occupational hazard.

I like to eat these like an apple, maybe with cream cheese though,  I would like to venture out for savory dish. Again I’m on the internet, search for savory persimmon recipe. Today’s Cooking caught my interest. Luckily, I have almost everything to make it happen and it seemed very easy. I also love the speedy clean-up at the end of the meal!

Ingredients and Instruction for two servings (Print Recipe Here)

Sauce

• 4 Tablespoons soy sauce or tamari soy sauce
• 4 Tablespoons mirin
• 4 Tablespoons sake
• 2  teaspoons sugar

Other ingredients

• 10-12 green beans, cut both ends off, then cut in half
• 300g boneless chicken thigh (about 2 chicken thighs), cut in one inch cubes.
• 1 Tablespoon flour or cornstarch for gluten free version
• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 fairly firm persimmons (Fuyu variety recommended), cut in 4ths, peel skin (remove seeds if they have) then slice in 1/2 inch slices so that it will be a triangular shape.
• 1/4 cup shelled walnuts, roughly chopped if they are whole
• Juice from 1 kabosu (かぼす)  Note: I was not able to find this type of citrus, I substituted lime and satsuma orange.

1. Mix sauce ingredients in a measuring cup or small bowl. Set aside
2. Ready ice cold water in a bowl. Blanch green beans in salted (approximately 1 Tablespoon salt to 3 cups of water) boiling water about 1 minute. Drain water then quickly submerge the green beans into the prepared cold water bowl. When the green beans get cold, remove the beans. Set aside.
   
3. Lightly coat chicken with flour or corn starch. Heat oil in large non-stick frying pan at medium heat. Brown chicken until golden in color.
4. Push the chicken to the side of the pan and spread persimmons in the rest of the pan. When browned, flip over to brown the other side, about 3-4 minutes per side.
   
5. Add blanched green beans and walnuts to the pan and stir.
6. Pour in the prepared sauce, simmer at low heat until sauce thickens. It takes only 1-2 minutes so keep an eye on it so as to not let it burn.
7. Squeeze lime and orange juice in. Stir. Serve warm.Voila!

 Other persimmon recipes we tried and  I posted on Instagram(#todaystapas,#todayssweets) are great I think.

Caramel persimmon and banana bread…next time I have to double the recipe and would like to share with neighbors…I follow the Japanese recipe and barely filled 3x5 pan. No-wonder Japanese people are skinny (me not included).

Persimmon Bread by my husband….so many persimmons so little time. Next stop - Angie’s Persimmon Streusel

We like persimmons yet a change of pace was inevitable….oven baked cheesy meatloaf in a kabocha bowl.

My mischievous Shinobi girl days are long gone…I can’t climb any fence over 3 feet tall now.

Softy

Kouglof Salé/クグロフ サレ

Kouglof, Gugelhuph or kuguroufu…many spellings for the name of the signature wavy design mold (unfortunately mine has straight lines). Also the name of Alsace region in France’s specialty cake. Brioche like dough,often with liqueur soaked raisin in this kouglof pan and baked – it has a nice sweet flavor.

In contrast, salé means salty in French, hence, this is a savory cake/bread. Positioned near Shimotakaido (下高井戸) station in Setagaya district, is Noliette French pastry shop which just celebrated it’s 20th anniversary in September. The owner, Noriyuki Nagai’s recipe produces a superb texture of Cake salé , salty cake - soft, moist, buttery. At the beginning of his career, he was trained as a chef not a pastry chef - that may have contributed to this creation. Use of kouglof pan will put you in a festive mood. I think it will be gorgeous presentation at the Thanksgiving table. Bon appetite!

I just want to let you know that Noliette is now taking pre-orders for Christmas cake. I wonder if the store would ship to the US? Probably not…I guess I have to think of something fabulous to make!

Ingredients and instructions for two 6inch kouglof pans or 1 bundt pan.

Stand mixer with hook, 2 kuglof pans or a Bundt pan.

• 1/4 of medium size onion minced
• 1/2 teaspoon of butter and vegetable oil
• Bread flour 250g plus 2-3 Tablespoons; sift.
• Milk 55g
• Eggs 165g (about 3 eggs) beat well in a medium bowl.
• Granulated sugar 15g
• Yeast,  fresh if possible 12g
• Salt 4g
• Butter 90g melted
• Walnuts 1/3 cup chopped
• Bacon about 2 slices, remove fat and chop small

Day 1 – Preparing dough

1. Heat 1/2 teaspoon of butter and oil in the skillet at medium-low heat. Add onion and sauté till golden. Transfer onion to paper towel. Press gently to absorb excess oil. Cool and set aside
   .
2. Mix milk and beaten eggs. Set aside
3. In a stand mixer bowl, put 250g flour, milk mixture(#2), sugar, yeast. Note: making the dough process should not take more than 20 minutes, otherwise it will ruin the good texture so start timing yourself. Run the mixer at medium speed. At first the dough will be sticky but eventually, it will pull away from the bowl. If the dough is still gooey and does not come together after 10 minutes, add more flour 1 tablespoon at time.
4. Add salt and mix 2-3 minutes more. 
5. Lower the speed then pour butter in a little bit at a time. When the dough is slick and shiny, add onion, bacon and walnuts. Mix for 30 second or so..
6. Make a ball and double wrap the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest overnight in the refrigerator.
   

Day 2 – Day of baking

Flour for dusting, Pam non-stick spray, foil

1. Dust a flat surface with flour. Divide dough in two - If you’re using a bundt pan then skip this process. Tap dough lightly to release gas trapped in the dough first then kneed the dough 1-2 minutes.
2. Shape dough into big donuts. Here my husband made a hole with his elbow.
   
3. Spray the pan with Pam. Press dough hard into the pan then wait about 1 hour for the dough to rise.
   
4. Pre-heat oven to 446F. When it has reached this temperature, put the bread in and lower the temperature to 420F. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove foil and bake for 5 minutes.
5. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack. Serve with olive oil or butter.

Tip#1: Although you may lose the “ooh, la, la”  moment you could bake this in ordinary rectangular bread pan and it would be suitable for sandwiches - perhaps turkey?

Tip #2: If you like to make a sweeter Kouglof, add 25g of sugar and 100g of softened raisins (Chef Nagai recommends sultana raisins) in place of onion, bacon and walnuts.

Speaking of bread, my husband and I dined at our favorite Maki restaurant last week. One of the few Japanese restaurants that offer good desserts and sells home made bread. We bought the Japanese style rolls.

We had a surprise visit from friends bearing gifts – chicken thigh mushrooms – the Indonesian name for matsutake mushroom. I leaned the name from an amazing Dentist food blogger, dentistvschef. Okay…that name doesn’t sound appetizing. Anyway, they were wild matsutake harvested from Mt. Hood. How in the world? Compared to regular size one in front, it is Humongous, right? It was bigger than my thigh, I mean my hand!

I simply sautéed with butter.

Frost on my lawn…It is getting cold here but I dare not to complain. I’m heart sick to hear the other parts of the country having terrible weather. I hope you’re safe.

And Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!